Afghan polio program vaccinates 1.2 million children

From Central Asia Online:

KABUL - The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) has vaccinated more than 1.2m children in Afghanistan against polio after a recent outbreak in neighbouring Tajikistan, the UN announced June 7.

As of June 5, some 200 cases of polio had been reported near the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border. More than 1m children were vaccinated by WHO in Tajikistan last month. Polio can spread rapidly and cause paralysis and death.

To make sure all children in the region were vaccinated, WHO set up immunization posts at border crossings to vaccinate children travelling between the two countries; carried out house-to-house visits; set up mobile clinics; and had vaccination teams in hospitals.

Afghanistan’s Badakhshan Province has been polio-free for ten years, making it more important to contain possible spill-over effects from outbreaks in neighbouring areas.